MY TEENAGE CRUSH

Episode 2

Brian's World

As the teacher entered the class, all the students in the class stood up to greet her in unison. "Good morning, Miss Carter!" the students all voiced out loud.

"Good morning, class," Miss Carter responded enthusiastically she had a warm smile”. She looked into the class as she adjusted her glasses. “I have your test results with me” she said with a straight face, “and I must say, some of you did remarkably well."

The class burst out with excitement and the sounds soon went down out of nervous anticipation of the results. Some of the students glanced at each other anxiously while others leaned forward, in general, they were all eager to hear their scores.

Miss Carter finally put them out of their anticipation as she began calling out names and announcing their scores one by one as she called out. Some of the students sighed in relief as the got scores favorable to them while others groaned in disappointment. Then, she got to Brian.

"Brian," she said, one could hear the admiration in her voice, "I knew you would always make me proud." She did something she hadn’t done for the rest of the students, she held up his test paper showing it to the class to see. Written at the top was 100%.

The class went into a predictable wave of whispers all through the classroom.

"Of course, it is Brian, he aced it," a boy in the back muttered.

"Brian is not short of a human calculator," another student whispered.

Brian humbly smiled as he stood up to go receive his paper. He was used to this as this was not the first time. Being the top student in his class wasn’t new to him, he had always aced it in his academics. The remarkable thing about this was that despite his brilliance, he never let any of his achievements get to his head.

"Well done, Brian," Miss Carter his teacher commended him. "Once again, you’ve proven that what we teach you is right, and have set an excellent example for the class. Keep it up!"

To this Brian responded "Thank you, Miss Carter," politely before taking his seat.

"Dude, do you ever get tired of being a genius?" Jake is friend leaned over and grinned, without even waiting for the teacher to leave. Brian chuckled, as he shook his head. "It’s not about being a genius, Jake. I just study."

"Yeah, yeah," just study indeed, Jake rolled his eyes playfully. " please remind me to sit next to you so you can help me out next time we have a test."

Brian laughed out softly, but didn’t respond because he knew Jake was joking, however, he wished people saw more of what he could do beyond his intelligence. It was all anyone ever talked about him really. Everyone binged on, the perfect scores, the loud praises from teachers, the expectations of him to keep doing better, all of it was sometimes exhausting.

As the teacher proceeded to teach the class, Brian soon zoned out, he was just staring at the window. Looking outside, he saw the birds flying freely in the sky, and for a brief moment, he wished it was him. They had no expectations; they were free from pressures.

Everyone knew Brian to be arguably the brightest student in school, sadly only few people knew the struggles he went through at home. While his classmates had the latest gadgets and fancy school supplies, Brian made do with secondhand textbooks and a worn-out school backpack. His parents were not wicked people, they were hardworking to the best of their ability but they had little.

They did everything within their power to support his education because they saw potential in it, but money was never enough.

His father, Mr. Dawson would usually work long hours as a construction worker, he will always be back home late, exhausted and covered in dust. While he made some money, they had to pay off rent for where they stayed which was expensive and sort of daily needs. Also, his father’s business had crumbled so he was paying off loans from his previous business. His mother on the other hand had to take on multiple cleaning jobs, she left early in the morning and always returned late at night. Despite their struggles, they made sure they could meet Brian’s needs or at least give him a cheaper substitute for what he needed so he didn’t feel like he was lacking.

“Education is your way out, Brian,” his mother always told him, she said this because all the people she worked for were educated people, and she could see the influence of their education on their success. “You have a gift, use it to build a better future for yourself.”

Brian made those words his mantra. He ensured to study relentlessly, as he was determined to make something of himself. This was beyond his personal gain, but for his family. He always imagined himself getting a scholarship and going to a prestigious university, so that one day, he will be able to give his parents the life they deserved. But deep down within himself, he also carried a fear, he always feared, ‘what if, despite his intelligence the world’s hardships still found a way to hold him back?’. This he dreaded with all of his being and it scared him.

The ringing of the lunch bell brought him back to reality, Brian and Jake walked toward the school’s cafeteria with their trays in hand. The food was a simple meal of rice, beans, and a small slice of meat but to Brian this was enough compared to what he had at home.

“Man, do you ever get tired of being the smartest guy in the room?” Jake asked, stuffing a spoonful of rice into his mouth.

Brian smiled, “Jake, I don’t see it like that. I just study because I have no choice but to.”

Jake wondered at his friend. “You make it sound as if it is a duty you have to perform. Mehn, I wish I had half of your brain, then I wouldn’t fail math every time, you know my dad troubles me and failing every school year”

“I can help tutor you, you know,” Brian offered.

Jake grinned; He wasn’t ready for any hard work at all. “Nah, I’d rather copy off your homework.”

“That’s not going to happen you know,” Brian said, shaking his head.

Before he could say anything more, the school bell rang as it indicated the end of lunch break. They had to hurriedly eat up and pack up to return back to class, Brian strangely felt that he was missing out of something and that something big was about to happen though he couldn’t point out what exactly.

After school, Brian walked back home as usual, as he turned to enter the street where his house is located, he spotted a familiar face, it was Lisa, his childhood friend.

“Brian!” she called out, as she waved quite excitedly.

Brian smiled surprised to see her and waved back. “Hey, Lisa how are you, it’s been a while.”

She walked up towards him fastly. “I was just heading home myself, How’s school?”

“You know it’s same as always, the normal lots of tests, and lots of studying.”

Lisa laughed at him “That sounds like normal Brian we all know. Hey, I almost forgot; I saw this flier today, and you were the first person that came to mind.” She pulled a folded paper from her bag and handed it to him. “There’s a competition coming up, and the winner gets a full scholarship to Beverly Hills Academy.”

Brian took the flier and he didn’t even look at it as he wasn’t interested. “Thank you Lisa, but I don’t think I am interested in competitions now, tried a few, they seem to give those they know and not those that are qualified. ”

Lisa rolled her eyes. “You always say that. Just think about it, okay? This could be your chance.”

Brian nodded, stuffing the flier into his pocket. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good you should I know you are the best fit for the scholarship,” Lisa said with a grin. “See you later, genius.”

Brian chuckled funnily as she ran off. He didn’t seem to take her too seriously, he was in-fact hurrying up so that he could go help his mum. She had a cleanup at one of work locations, and he sometimes helped her. But this was never a problem for him, but he was now running really late, so he just told her thank you and rushed off.

As Brian was sorting out his laundry later that night, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled flier. He was about to throw it away, but he suddenly became very curious. He unfolded it and read the bold letters at the top:

Beverly Hills Academy Scholarship Competition!

As he skimmed through the details in the flier, his eyes widened. Berverly Hills Academy was the most prestigious private school in the state. Only the wealthiest families could afford to send their kids there. Here, was a scholarship opportunity and his chance to study in an environment with top-tier resources, the best teachers, and endless opportunities.

For the first time in a long while, Brian felt something stir in his chest.

Hope.

Could this really be his way out?